Bram Stoker's Dracul Movie Analysis

What exactly is required to make a classic novel into a successful film? How do directors effectively construct a highly visual movie from a descriptive, yet still ambiguous book? Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a classic novel that tells the story of the monstrous Count Dracula and the poor souls who come across his path. Stoker describes characters and places as well as certain scenes in depth. Nonetheless, much of the action in some of the more risqué scenes involved are an implied message rather than one that is clearly stated, such as the scene with Jonathan and the brides (Stoker 64) or when Dracula forces Mina to drink his blood (Stoker 285). When adapting the novel into a film, Dracula (1931) director, Tod Browning realized that various changes needed to be made not only because several scenes would have been extremely controversial in 1931 when the film was released, but also to please the audience by forming a less complicated storyline to follow and …show more content…
In the book, during the same scene where the brides attempt to feed on Jonathan, the Count gives them a baby to feed on instead (Stoker 65). Later in the book, the reader finds out that the turned Lucy is kidnapping and feeding on children (Stoker 211). However, in the film, the audience sees none of this behavior. Lucy’s preying on children is brought up very briefly, but the topic is quickly changed and never spoken about again. The act of feeding on small children is considered abhorrent even today, nevertheless, people are more open to being horrified by typically unthinkable acts such as eating a child. While we as humans still find it repulsive, today it is accepted as a method of horror. In 1931, people would have been so disgusted with the scene, that few would have been willing to go see it. Browning realized this, and planned accordingly, taking out the two scenes involving the feeding of